Nasher channels vinyl medium

It’s easy to dismiss the resurgence of interest in vinyl as another hipster or steampunk revival, but the record holds more cultural significance than one may think. The Nasher Museum of Art’s ambitious new exhibit, simply titled The Record: Contemporary Art and Vinyl, focuses on the iconic medium through a well-chosen compilation of works that will appeal to more than just music junkies.

The Record succeeds on many fronts: As a collection, it holds up, making a cohesive unit with a powerful unifying message. Individually, the 41 international artists bring fresh, entertaining and often overlooked perspectives to the (turn)table.

One of the overarching themes of the exhibit is a nostalgic tribute to the changing relationship listeners and collectors have with music in today’s high-tech world. Brazilian artist Felipe Barbosa’s “Autographs” features 36 index-sized album cover cutouts, each inscribed with the signature of the previous owner. The work illustrates the ritualistic process of handing down music, where the history of the record is just as important as the record itself.

Ralph Lemon’s “Walter Repairing Records” expresses a similar reminiscence of the past. The video features an old man struggling to fix up broken records with duct tape in a manner that is both endearing and depressing.

Many of the pieces also bring into question the ways in which we listen to music. Highlights include “Pour des dents d’un blanc éclatant et saines” by Jeroen Diepenmaat and “Viophonograph” by Laurie Anderson, two sculptural works that represent the disconnect between live and recorded sound. Diepenmaat’s work shows a bird producing the sound of the record by placing its beak to the vinyl, while Anderson reconstructed a violin to play records.

Some of the most interesting compositions involve the direct manipulation of vinyl as the medium of the works. Yukio Fujimoto’s “Delete” features grooveless records created by sanding down the plastic on both sides, making them unplayable. This time-consuming activity of ridding a record of its musical qualities contrasts with the painfully easy process of obtaining and deleting songs from the Internet as an example of changing cultural norms.

Similarly, the aptly named “Burn Out Sun” by Sean Duffy uses copies of Elvis Presley’s “Sun Years” LPs to construct a geodesic dome sculpture. Not only does the piece stand alone as an aesthetically appealing work of art, but it also illustrates the fluctuating nature of trends that come and go through time.

No artist, however, has dealt with the medium of records in his or her work more than Christian Marclay, a pioneer in turntablism and the conceptual nature of sound visualization. Works such as “Recycled Records” capture his essence—the various vinyl discs have been painted on and re-pieced, physically highlighting the “Frankenstein” qualities of today’s mash-up artists and DJs.